that director Jane Campion is one of only two women who have been nominated for an Oscar for directing, and that no woman has ever won? Whatever happened to the PHI ratio here?
You may know Campion’s work: Sweetie, The Piano, Portrait of a Lady, and Holy Smoke.
She has another film coming out called “In the Cut.” It’s loosely based on Susanna Moore’s 1995 novel of the same name.
Monthly Archives: October 2003
Relationships
I was recently reading about a woman who had been married for thirty-five years to a man who abused her. He broke her arm, her shoulder, her jaw and a couple of ribs.
I’ve read enough psychology to understand that there is a dynamic in that relationship that keeps her in place. But for the life of me I can’t understand why you would make excuses for, and stay with, a man who HURTS you!! I know that she believes she deserves this treatment, and that it’s HER fault he does these things, but what I can’t understand is why she didn’t get out after the first instance of abuse.She must have been trained as a kid that she was worthless to have lasted so long in a dreadful situation like this. I wonder if counseling is of any use at this point?
I know that when you are alone with a man who is in a rage, it’s not worth fighting back. I also know that many women put up with an attack to divert the man from hurting their children. But, once the attack is over, all you have to do is bid your time and walk away. Why are we not teaching our children to do that?
I have on-line friends in similar situations, and I do everything I can to encourage them to GET OUT!! I’m surprised that women’s groups haven’t been more successful in helping women out of these situations, or even better, putting an end to the attacks. I think that penalties for crimes against women are woefully light. If we could change the legislation, perhaps men would think first before they strike.
Have you ever helped someone put an end to abuse?
Music
Everybody has music they love. Some blogs have “currently listening to” sidebars, and others discuss the merits of their favorites. For the most part, what they have in common from my point of view is that I don’t recognize a word of what they are talking about.
How could I be a trained musician, and have gotten so far removed from pop music?? I can’t figure it out. What I find is that I recognize some music here and there, but I’ve missed most of the hits of the nineties, and I have NO idea who is popular in the new millennium.
The Da Vinci Code-Fibonacci sequence
Have you ever heard of the Fibonacci sequence? This is the sequence:
1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 8 – 13 – 21
It is a progression in which each term is equal to the sum of the two preceeding terms.
Dan Brown uses this sequence as part of the clues left behind by Jacques Sauniere, the murdered curator. Sauniere raised his granddaughter, coaching her in endless puzzles. As an adult she became a cryptographer. When presented with the numbers in a scrambled form, she recognizes the sequence, and understands that it is part of a message.
The Da Vinci Code – PHI
I know, I’ve been talking about this book for the last week. It’s absolutely engrossing. I love mysteries, and this one keeps you turning the pages right to the end.
Robert Langdon is a Harvard symbologist on business in Paris. Sophie Neveu is a young cryptologist who works for the French police. Sophie’s grandfather, Jacques Sauniere, is the curator of the Louvre. The story opens with Sauniere being stalked and shot in the museum. In his last moments, he leaves clues for his granddaughter and Langdon to solve, to prevent the loss of the secret of the Priory of Sion.
The author, Dan Brown, has done an incredible job of fashioning a work of fiction based on fact. It’s difficult occasionally to tell the dividing line between the two, and that sent me surfing the Internet for information. The page before the Prologue states that “All descriptions of artwork, architechture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” It also confirms that the Priory of Sion, a secret society founded in 1099 is a real organization, and that Opus Dei, is truly a Catholic sect with headquarters in New York City.
This ‘n’ That
This morning when I was out, I saw a headline in the Chicago Sun-Times which said something to the effect that if you want your child to read better, turn off the T.V. BRAVO!! Talk to your children. Have them read to you. Discuss what you’ve read. Limit the amount of time your children get to watch T.V. and you will have healthier, smarter children!
I’m back!
I had expected to be away just a day or so, and it’s stretched out to four or five. Nothing earthshaking has happened here, I’ve just been caught up in my off-line life.
Sunday, we celebrated Dear Husband’s birthday. Normally, the birthday person gets to determine what they do they day of their birthday, but DH had to give me a hand outside. I know it was at the bottom of a list of things he could have been doing, but I’m glad he bit the bullet and worked with me.
Checking In
I’m likely to be away from the computer this weekend. I convinced my mother and DH to go to the last of the Farmer’s Markets tomorrow morning, weather permitting. Then we’ll do breakfast out, and stop at the cleaners and Office Max on the way home. I started making a list of about twenty other errands that need to be run, and it looks like the entire day could be wiped out. If it continues to rain, that might not be a bad idea, unless traffic is a mess.
Jo Ann Fabrics or Windmill City Quilts, getting Defer’s nails clipped, and then giving him a bath, stopping at Babies R Us for a shower gift, getting a bag of vermiculite, ordering bird seed for delivery…..and I’d like to get DH to Restoration Hardware before their lighting sale ends.
I have a wonderful book I just started. It’s the “Da Vinci Code.” I’m barely 130 pages into the story and really wrapped up in it. I’ll have to tell you more when I’ve finished it, but I can already recommend it.
Sunday, Mother has a meeting of Empty Nesters, and then we will go to dinner with the kids to celebrate DH’s birthday. One of the kids has organized it, and made reservations. We’ll be at a restaurant on a river, so we may get to enjoy the gathering wildlife.
My gardens still need me, and the leaves that have fallen are wet now. I can see that we will be raking one cold November. I’ll have to get someone to take a picture. I’m sure none of you believe that I do any of this stuff! *G*
Well….I hope you all have a great weekend! Happy Fall!
Prescrption Drugs Revisited
I was browsing blogs and came across the October 19th entry at StupidAngryCanajun titled “Back to Volcanic.” Go read. She’s covered the topic suscinctly and I totally agree! Greedy bastards!
Brava! Great post!
War is Hell
It’s been my policy to refrain from talking about the war. There are pundits out there who are infinitely better informed, who are also more eloquent on the subject. But recently a friend put up one of those counters that points out the cost of having gone to war, and I felt bitterly stung by it.
Personally, I felt that we had no business going to war, but I also believe that you support the choices made by your government. If my President says we needed to go to war, I have to trust that he had access to better information than do I. When I feel my President is wrong, I’m allowed to say so, and I am also allowed to work from within the system to try to elect someone more of my choosing.
What bothers me most of all is that no matter what we do now, we are the Ugly Americans. If we drop everything and walk away, we’ll be castigated for abandoning the Iraqis once again after having demolished their infrastructure. It doesn’t matter that Hussein did that very thing to his own people. WE are the bad guys.
If we stay and rebuild, we are accused of being greedy and being there for material reasons only. It doesn’t matter that Americans are loosing their lives to help the Iraqis. As fast as we try to rebuild, Iraqi splinter groups destroy, and WE are blamed for the situation.
I don’t wish to discuss this subject, because all the rhetoric in the world can’t change what has already happened, and I have yet to see anyone who can focus on the future and what should be done. It’s past time for countries which have had their hands out to the U.S. for years to understand that in return they are obligated to support us. You can’t call us greedy when we are supporting your economy, sending assistance in dozens of areas, and accepting your students in our universities.
I won’t argue that we have made mistakes. Personally, I’d like to see us pull back and do more at home for a while, but as long as Americans are putting their lives on the line on foreign soil, I will be supporting my country.
So, pardon me if you disagree, but this is MY chance to speak out.